Confessions
by Moonlight Memories
Summary: The 'bladers are having a party. Daichi picks up a strange letter, the author confessing his feelings to someone else. If that wasn't strange enough, the atmosphere of the 'bladers seems tense... as if all of them have a role to play in it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't seriously look like Takao Aoki, right?

* * *

"Close my eyes, I only fantasize about you. Open them, and I think of you. Sleep; I dream of you, every waking moment, I daydream about you. You smile; I think about how sweet your smile looks. Frown and I will think about how sad and vulnerable you look. You exist and steal my heart, but should you disappear, you'll take my soul with you.

I don't even know how or why I feel this way. To look at you is to fly, to hear your voice is my ecstasy, my high. Try as I might to forget, you're the one whose meeting I will never regret.

It is hard to say those three little words. The ones I've told you in every dream, daydream and fantasy. Those words that seem so big. I love you. How easily it rolls off my mind, but my voice would be stuck if I tried to pronounce the second word. Sometimes, I try to close my eyes and forget the world. As I explained, that doesn't work. I only start fantasizing about my angel, my love, you. Fantasizing that when I confess, I won't see the look of rejection I know you're bound to give me.

Just because I love you.

I must have owed you from our previous lives. Retribution, Karma, that's what the Chinese believe. At least, that's what Ray told me.

It's so strange, somehow. Me loving you, stealing glances at your soft, beautiful hair. Yet I can't stop. This love I hold for you, will it ever be returned? I doubt it.

You are the one I care about most deeply. You have my heart, my soul. So keep them; heaven knows they will be safer with you. Every drop of blood in my body belongs to you, just like I belong to my beauty. You. You are the one I will never truly forget.

I notice how you stare at **_him_**. Hungrily, almost. I wish that I could just tell you I love you, let you accept me, and we could be together for all eternity. No, beyond eternity. Beyond everything, for your love. I wish I did not have to see your hurt face, see those unshed tears and hear the pain in your voice as you cry, when you call me at midnight. To see the one you love in the arms of another, lusting for someone that is not you. Yes, I know the feeling. That's why, hard as I try, I can't turn you away from my heart. You don't know this, but every waking moment, I wish that I could protect you.

Yet wishes don't come true. Why?

I wish you could find your happiness, I wish he could notice you. I hate to see your tear-stained cheeks. I love your smile. It's so delicate. So much like an angel. You. I don't even know why I love you, but I guess one reason is your smile. It's fine if you never notice me, never love me the way I want to be loved by you, but I just want to see you happy. It's my elixir, that smile of yours. I love it. Even if you don't smile, just knowing that you're happy will make me happy.

I wish I would pass this to you, but I'll never get the courage. Oh well, I guess this will end up in the dustbin as usual. It must be why I always write on Saturdays; the rubbish collector comes then. I'm just going to put this by the table again. Tempting fate, hoping you'll see this. I am sorry for never telling you, but that would lead to my own destruction.

Still, fate caused our paths to cross, but perhaps friends is all that we can be. Fate can be so cruel, making us love those whom we know will never love us. I am sorry for never telling you this.

It's just… I'm selfish, call it that.

I just want to protect my heart. I love you too much to ever stop, this love will flow forever.

Please stay safe."

The author sighed before placing his neatly written masterpiece on the table. No one would notice, they were too busy partying away and dancing to the music wafting from the music player. In the next room.

He couldn't resist it; perhaps the one he loved would see this… he had to tempt fate for once. Yet…

He folded it and placed it on the table.

* * *

Daichi saw a piece of paper in the hall. It was folded twice over neatly. There was no script on it, but he could see some impact of the words in the paper. There were many words.

His curiosity got the better of him. He was at a party in which all the BladeBreakers' friends were invited to. Anyone could have left something interesting for him to blackmail them into buying him some 'presents'. He was all out of cash.

Opening it, he was greeted by a neat script he couldn't place. In the meantime, Ray walked into the room.

"Daichi, what's that??" Ray asked. He went over.Before the redhead could stop him, Ray took the piece of paper from his hand and started reading it out softly.

_"Close my eyes, I only fantasize about you…"_

As they got to the end, Daichi, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "Who do you think wrote _that_?"

Ray shook his head. "I have no idea. I mean, I never thought the others-any of them- could write such a… piece of work."

"Yeah, it's awfully mushy."

Before they had time to ponder about what it could mean, Tala walked down, accompanied by Bryan. Before they could hide the paper, the question flowed out. "What's that you're looking at?" Ray and Daichi looked at each other, wondering whether to share this particularly interesting piece of information. They could blackmail the people in it, or, better still, tease them no end.

"Well," began Daichi, not being able to tolerate the silence, "you see, I found this piece of paper…"

* * *

A/N:Ok… now I'm finally doing a 'proper' beyblade fic/ficlet (not quite sure yet) that will involve a lot of characters. Hope you enjoyed it!

P.s: do tell me what couple you want this to be, if you have a request. I don't mind. Just drop me I review. I want to feel appreciated… (pouts) anyway, hoped you enjoy. Comments/ flames/praise welcome. Just try to keep it constructive so I can improve,Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm finally updating!

Disclaimer: No. Sadly. Otherwise, these characters will be so messed up.

* * *

By the time Daichi had finished explaining, Hilary and Tyson had been added to the growing list of people who had heard of this letter. He wondered why people kept coming into the hall when they should have been in the next room, partying.

"So, who did you talk about retribution to?" Daichi asked, hoping for a lead.

"Hmm… all my teammates and… well, most people know of it," Ray concluded lamely.

"Look at this part: 'when you call me at midnight.' That ought to tell us something," Hilary guessed, eyes sparkling with the curiosity everyone else's eyes reflected. She looked around, but no one seemed to agree with her.

"Actually, it doesn't say much, except that the two people involved are close friends, seeing as they call each other at midnight. The person who wrote this must be pretty patient, to answer midnight calls,"Ray concluded, a satisfied smile on his face. No one could poke a hole in that theory.

"Actually, it tells us a lot," Tala told the Chinese boy, voicing out his own opinion.

Tyson only made a face, apparently still shocked by the contents of the letter.

Daichi turned the piece of paper over and over in his hand, as if it was a rubrics cube that would be magically solved someday as long as he kept turning it in one way or other. The rest also sat quietly in the hall, trying to work out who wrote the letter.

"Hey, you guys, the party's in the next room, what are you doing here?"

"Max?"

"That's me!" The blonde exclaimed.

"We're tired, that's all," Hilary told him, while signaling for Daichi to hide the paper.

"Don't tell me, we're going to work it out ourselves and tell no one," Tyson guessed, the second their hyperactive blonde friend was gone.

"Yes," replied the brunette.

"Alright. It'll be harder to find out anything if the others know, anyway," Bryan reasoned, "So, we'll all try to solve this mystery and alert the others when we have found out who the author is. It's a bonus if we find out who the author likes as well."

"And tell no one," Ray murmured.

"What if the person's among us?" asked Tyson, uncharastically using his brain instead of his stomach to think. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

"That makes it all the more difficult. You wouldn't happen to be the author, would you?"

Tyson shook his head.

"He's not lying. I know a liar when I see one, and he's definitely not lying,"Tala spoke up. Tyson breathed a sigh of relief, causing everyone to stare suspiciously at him. "So, you guys up for it?"He was only answered by the others scattering, presumably to find some clues. Tala stared at Tyson for a second, before speaking, "You know something we all don't. Spill it."

Tyson looked tortured. "I can only tell you two things. One, I'm not the author. Two, I have an idea about who the author is. It's not pretty," Tyson mumbled, eyes closed. A tear trickled down Tyson's cheek. He must have realized that Tala read others by their eyes. "Well, I've to go."

For the first time, the redhead caught sight of the dark eye rings around Tyson's eyes. The other boy's tears were still free-falling. His normal cheer was no longer there. Something was definitely not right. Even if he took Tyson's words at face value, the boy definitely knew something that he didn't. That would be the best place to start, knowing that he had no other leads. He would have to stalk Tyson. Not that Tyson would mind. After all, he must be in great pain. Tala judged that he had only eaten what he could so as not to break down and break up the façade.

The thing was, why hadn't the others noticed what he had become?

He himself should have noticed the second he saw Tyson, so why hadn't he?

Something was definitely afoot, and he would find out what it was…before it became too late. He had a strange feeling that it was already too late, but he closed his eyes and told hinself that it wasn't. It couldn't be. Damn it, it had better not be too late. Fate had played with his life for too long, he shouldn't be in a helpless position anymore.

What was up with Tyson?

He did not notice the other presence behind them, yellow eyes recording and remembering every expression

* * *

.A/N: Still looking for people to express their choice in pairings! Oh yes, one per review so… review every chapter!xD 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Kyah! Why did I take so long?? Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I love you all! I hope you guys still remember this thing.

Disclaimer: -rolls eyes- No. Why else would I be here?

* * *

A smile lit Mathilda's face. She was quite lost in her dancing. She laughed as she saw how all of them in the hall. Ah, that letter. Yes, she must make sure that she was the first to find out the truth. Yet… the letter was written in such a way that anyone who saw it had to return it to the table in the end. She hoped that the one meant for the letter would see it soon. The author was sad, yes, but he was also so amusing… Mathilda was sure that whoever it was knew what the others would try and solve the mystery. One would wonder…

"You seem happy," commented Miguel. She decided not to reply, or her voice would betray her. Yes, so joyful yet so sad… she did not understand these emotions.

Finally, "You could say that."

She did not stop smiling as her feet led her away from him and back again. He looked surprised but did not say a word.

As the rest dashed back into the room, she felt laughter bubble within her again. Yes, they must think that they were the only ones. In truth, it was a different batch of people who had been there and led her to it in the first place. This was indeed very exciting. She did not let the laughter escape her. Instead, she smiled and dance, observing others through it. Ah, but why was Ray eavesdropping on Tala and Tyson? It would be worth finding out.

"Miguel?"

"What is it?"

A smile. Yes, the more the merrier. She wanted to pit her skills against everyone else. It would be fun. "Why does everyone enter in the hall at some point of time?"

" You were there too."

"Yes, but aren't you curious?"

A strange look passed over his face. "Tell me."

"It is to be seen and not to be explained. Just look out for a white piece of paper, will you?"

He nodded vaguely. He seemed out of sorts. This was interesting. Yet another person to add to her 'List Of Suspects'. She smiled. There were many people worth investigating, but she supposed she should narrow it down. She wanted to do something for the author. Whoever the author was, they had taught her what it meant to love. A valuable lesson that should be shared.

* * *

Bryan wondered why everybody was so interested in the letter. It wasn't anything special.

"Bryan?"

He turned to see Hilary and Ray standing beside him. Didn't they all want to find out something about the author? Why were they talking to him of all people? Suddenly, reality dawned on him. No, did they think he was the author? That couldn't be! Were they insane?

He nodded to acknowledge them, hiding his shock behind a stony face.

"Would you like to team up with us? I'm sure a team will be faster than going solo."

Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. So he hadn't softened up. If they had truly thought that he was the author, he was sure the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys would laugh their asses off.

"That doesn't interest me."

"That's a pity. The letter was so sad. I wish that I could have helped him or her. It interests me, yes, but I am more concerned about the author's emotional pain. My _friend's_ emotional pain. Won't you help? For all you know, it could be one of your teammates…"

Before he could stop himself, he chuckled, then immediately stopped himself. Yes, they were always silent; their expressions unreadable. They never had anyone to cling to, so it was true, he could see any one of them feeling so passionately for another person. If he rejected, they might think him the author. He did care for his teammates, after all. He sighed and nodded his acceptance.

"Thank you. Let's split up and gather clues, alright?" Hilary said, smiling.

He felt strange. "Sure." He told her, having no intention to speak to anyone at all. He would just observe and see; he knew they would do all the talking for him. He decided to sit on one of the couches and observe. No one would be the wiser; he was always silent when attending this sort of gathering.

* * *

"Hey, come again tomorrow! We can blade against each other."

Ordinarily, many of the bladders present would have made a snide remark, but now, all they did was to nod their heads as they walked away. Tyson sighed. Was that letter really so important? All of them were intruiged by this mystery, but in his opinion, they should just leave the author well alone. He sighed and touch his cheek. Powder. It was a little damp.

Damn Tala. He even had to touch up on it. Why did he shed tears anyway? He was sure Tala had noticed- it was so obvious, otherwise he would never have touched make-up. Perhaps it was smudged, but not quite washed away. He hoped so. However, by the time he returned to the toilet, the powder seemed all but gone.

Silently, he shut the door.

"You can appear now, you know."

* * *

A/N: Yes, Tyson knows something. I wonder if I should make this into a vote for your pairing thing?Hmmm. review! Pretty please, with cherry on top? And do tell me your ideas for the pairings!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry, had to retype this entire thing. Let's see. I really hope you enjoyed it, and, this update will shed some light on Tyson… as well as unlock more questions. Do enjoy. By the way, I'm going to use one of the suggestions, I just don't know which at the moment.

* * *

Tyson couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering to that pain and heartbreak, a tearful loss and bloodstained fingerprints. He couldn't stop thinking and remembering…

He was better off forgetting…

He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep, but sleep would not come. Instead, only the memory echoed in his head. In an attempt to dispel the horrifying images, he opened his eyes and stared at the newly painted white walls. They did not help. The memories mocked him. He did not scream, but he could not stop the sob that crossed his throat. He was forever haunted, not by the dead but by the living. Haunted by imperfections and blood… yes, so much blood.

He shut his eyes again and begged for sleep to take him.

It would not do that. He tossed and turned, wishing that he could obtain but one moment of rest.

This was torture. Tears sprang to his eyes again, but he held them back.

"Can't sleep?"

" I don't understand them. Why? Do they mean to make light of this? Why strive to find out what should never be known? I wish that I could…"

"Time will sort it out."

Tyson shook his head wildly to indicate that he did not think so. Fingers tousled his hair, trying their utmost best to comfort him but failing to do much. Ordinarily, he would have pushed them away from him, but now, he relished the comfort and reality they brought to me. He shut his eyes.

"Tyson… trust me. I'll stay by your side." There was an expectant pause.

A tear fell onto his cheeks then. Belatedly, he realised that it was not his own.

"Promise me." He pleaded childishly.

"I promise."

* * *

The clouds did not shadow the sky, the sun sparkling brightly. Tyson reflected about the times where he had loved this kind of day, but now he hated the hypocrisy it represented. The sky was a liar.

It was on such a day that he had been walking down the road, whistling as he approached the shortcut. The sunlight did not dim as he walked towards that building. If anything, he glowed even brighter. Worse still, there wasn't a cloud in the sky when he had first heard those murmurs for help.

Then there was that disembodied voice…

"Tenshi?" it had asked, as if trying to reassure itself.

Those vacant eyes were even worse… they did not care in the slightest- life or death; both were the same to them. It was this revelation that truly frightened Tyson. He could never have imagined that a simple walk to the park would alter his life in this manner. No, he would never be the same again.

"Tyson!" a sharp voice called, waking him from his daydream. He was glad that he had gotten some sleep last night.

" Hilary?" he asked, surprised. Wasn't the party yesterday? " What are you doing here?" he continued, not really meaning for an answer.'

" Don't you remember inviting us to blade here today?"

"I did?" he asked, his voice distant as he stared into the sky. " I guess I forgot," he whispered, making her wonder how far apart they really were. Then, he broke into a bright smile, grinning as he said, " Well, that's great! The weather's prefect for it!"

With that, Hilary shook away her doubts. Same old Tyson.

How could Tyson be sad about anything?

She must have imagined it.

* * *

Hilary grabbed Ray's hands, much to the amusement of the rest of their teammates. In truth, she was only about to discuss the information they had gotten yesterday. Of course, the others didn't see it that way. They gave each other knowing smirks and Tyson even wolf whistled. Ignoring her irritating teammates, she dragged him to the park where they were supposed to meet Bryan.

"Let's follow them!" yelled Tyson. Hilary flinched. What was wrong with Tyson? Then, a smile made its way to her lips. No, nothing was wrong. All was as it should be. He always acted thus.

"Give them some privacy," Kenny spoke.

Playing along with it, she only nodded as Ray ran quickly. Oh dear. Now they had the wrong impression, she thought. Oh well, it would be cleared up soon.

"Sure, let's grab something to eat! I'm hungry!" Tyson said, smiling.

"Hn," came the reply. She didn't stop to hear any more.

* * *

"Hey," Ray greeted. Hilary muttered a hello as Bryan nodded his head, disinterested. "Did you guys find out anything?"

"This isn't a safe place to talk, guys" Hilary commented. " You know how the others love it here."

"I agree," Bryan spoke, causing them to turn and look at him.

"Where shall we go?"

"My hotel room should be safe," the Russian blader said quietly. Hilary felt herself blushing. Beside her, Ray instantly agreed, smiling as though this was the best thing that ever happened.

Seeing no way out, Hilary shivered as she murmured, " Well, let's go then."

* * *

The room was spacious and well-lit. Hilary smiled as she breathed in the fresh air from the air conditioner. It felt so good upon her skin, taking away sweat and fatigue. She sat on the floor, noting how soft the floor was. Carpet… she sighed as the others sank down onto the floor.

"Can we sit on the chairs instead?"

"Whatever."

Hilary smiled but did not move from the floor. "The floor's soft," she told them, laughing. " I don't mind sitting on it… in fact, it's probably good enough to sleep on!" she joked.

A smirk was a she received in reply.

"So, what did you guys find out?"

"Let's start with you, Hilary," Ray asked.

"Well, Tala and Tyson seemed to be acting weird yesterday. He seemed fine today though. Mathilda was really chatty, and I think she hinted that she knows about the paper as well…"

"We should not presume that we are the only ones to see it."

" Yes, but I heard their conversation-Tala's and Tyson's… it kind of disturbs me…"

" Tell us," Hilary implored.

"Well…" he related what happened. The other two did not hold back the looks of surprise on their faces as he spoke of the pity in Tala's voice. "It's a pity I didn't see Tyson's face," Ray finally ended.

"Let's find out."

"Yeah, things sound serious."

" Yes, but… let's be careful about the way we go about it. Tala seems serious about finding out what happened, while Tyson is a little secretive- it's probably a good friend of his," Hilary reasoned. She looked worried, but then again, so did Ray. Bryan seemed slightly interested.

"Everyone he meets is his friend," remarked Bryan drily. " This might even be a completely seperate matter from the one we ared currently investigating."

"Well, if so, I have two mysteries to solve now. Tyson is our friend, you know. You guys with me?"

"I guess."

"Fine."

* * *

A/N: And more, more, more. Thanks to all reviewers! Ask, if you have any questions.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: No, I don't own it.

A/N: **I put the compilation of votes underneath.** **_Please read everything_** to understand why they're compiled like that and how to add more votes. Thanks.

* * *

_I will always love you._

Those words hung in the air. Tyson forced his smile back on his face. His teammates needed to see him smile. There could be no other way. He glanced at Kai. The guy behaved as he always did.

He wondered why the others didn't see everything for the nightmare it was.

He would get through this.

He had to.

* * *

The other 'bladers gazed at each other furtively, as if thinking that everyone else was a suspect in this. Perhaps it wasn't the same, Hilary reflected, but the two problems the team had at hand were intimately related. She would do anything to make sure that the 'bladers were all happy.

It was something that she missed dearly- the true happiness of her team.

All of them hid something from her, even Tyson. She thought that he was the only one who didn't have a secret. She was a fool, she supposed. Worse still, they were hiding it from each other as well. She wondered when all this secrecy started. Now, she badly wanted to let the author and his love be together. Was that so much to ask? She just wanted someone to be happy. It hurt her. She was their friend. They were friends. So why couldn't they tell her what had happened to each of them?

She smiled as she and Ray returned. They needed someone to be happy, as Tyson undoubtedly realised, so she and Tyson would pretend to be happy.

Until they couldn't bottle it in and exploded, anyway.

Hilary smiled again as she recalled the times that they had shared together.

Life might never be the same again, but one thing would never change. Their friendship would stay alive forever, and she hoped that they would sort everything out soon. They had to.

If not, there was a high possibility that every single thing they worked for would crumble right before their very eyes.

That would only be the start.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream for the world to help them. She wanted to hug them and tell them that everything would be fine, but that would smash their carefully constructed façade.

For some reason she wanted to protect Bryan and Kai the most carefully.

Perhaps it was because they were always sad.

* * *

MingMing knew better than to approach everyone and ask about the paper. She wanted to ask if they had read it yet, but the finger of suspicion would only point to her and she would not be able to do anything without many people staring at her every move. Such would be the fate of the author until his or her love was returned to them.

Her eyes wandered to her own team, who were asking questions. She was supposed to be making notes in secret, so she was doing that.

Yet…

Even though she hadn't known them for long, she couldn't miss the shiny eyes of the Bladebreakers. Why, they looked like they were about to cry.

She didn't say anything because she couldn't.

She could only smile that childish smile and sing happy songs, hoping that the mood of the song would life their spirits a little. No, the Bladebreakers weren't the only ones. One would think that all these people had lost loved ones.

Perhaps they had.

She sighed. They were bringing her mood down. She couldn't help staring at on person in particular, hoping that he would realise how much she loved him.

She let her mind drift off to happier things.

Did Hilary like Bryan?

She smiled. Such silly things, but as long as it made her smile, she didn't mind letting herself think of such things. It distracted her from the other thoughts… she sang loudly and tried to let happiness flow through her.

She didn't like pretending.

* * *

Miguel stared warily at everyone. Such powerful feelings that were not reciprocated... who could survive with such pain? He knew what it felt like. After all, there was someone that he loved, too.

Miguel saw that most of his team were having a good time but still were looking around. He laughed as he noted how Hilary, Ray and Bryan were in a corner discussing something or other again. What were they discussing? It was obvious that they were talking about something, but every single time someone came remotely close to them, Bryan would stare a hole into that person's head while the other two would keep quiet. Of course, there was suspicion on their heads, but since there were three of them, he supposed that all of them were merely interviewing each other as everyone else was doing. It wasn't that surprising.

Suddenly, Hilary stood up, followed by Ray, while Bryan remained seated. It seemed that their meeting was adjourned. Hilary and Ray instantly indulged in chatter with the other beybladers.

Perhaps they, too, were only gathering information. However, why was Bryan glaring like that?

* * *

Max smiled at Ray tiredly. Honestly, they had so many secrets. For one thing, he knew that Mariah loved Ray and vice versa, but neither had acted on it yet. Now, Mariah seemed to like someone else and Ray was pretty much heartbroken.

Max liked Emily too, but the same problem applied.

They truly were teammates. They even shared the same fate, more or less. Loving someone hurt so much…

He knew that everything would be fine soon.

He and Ray would confess. Then, they would either live happily ever after or get over it.

He knew that it would occur soon.

Perhaps he should go over now…

* * *

A/N: Thanks for supporting this story!

I count my votes this way: if you submitted a review to each of my chapters and suggested pairings for each of them reviews, you have four votes. If you submitted a review to each of my chapters but only put your suggested pairing in one of the chapters, I only count it as one vote. (If you didn't read the author notes before and want to add more votes for the chapters you didn't suggest a pairing for, you can pm me)

Let's compile the votes so far –smiles-

KaiHil-2 KaiMimi-6 TalaKai-1 TyKa-3 KaiMatthi-2

Again, if you've reviewed the other chapters but forgot to suggest a pairing in each chapter and want to do that, pm me. Thank you!

By the way, you can vote for more than one pairing per review. One more thing. I'm only going to count the votes for a couple more chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry about this story. I'm just going to give it a quick ending since I'm absolutely mesmerised by Jalex these days. Apologies. I just want people who've read it to you know, have some ending.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Tyson decided to go for a walk. The sun was so bright, after all. Nothing bad could possibly go wrong. _

_He loved this kind of day._

_The flowers smelt especially fragrant. He could see some drops of dew on them. An ant padded on one of the flower petals. Under his foot, some bugs scurried here and there. He shifted his foot and stared at them for what seemed like forever. _

_He glanced at his watch. Less than five seconds had passed. Oh well._

_For no reason at all, the song that Max liked so much was stuck in his head. He shrugged and started to whistle to tune, turning sharply and walking down a path he had never been on before. This path would probably save him five minutes. As the saying went, time saved was time earned… or something. This was especially so since he was that much closer to the ice-cream shop. His stomach grumbled at the thought. He was getting hungry again.  
_

_Suddenly, a grey building filled with cracks appeared in front of him. Or maybe he was just too busy thinking about his ice-cream to notice the surroundings._

_Say, where was he? _

"_Help,"he heard someone say._

_He shuddered and resolved to walk more quickly. Was there a ghost in there?_

"_Help."_

_There was no panic in the voice, just a kind of weariness. Tyson began to wonder if it was someone's lame idea of a joke._

_He decided to walk in and confront the person, brushing off all thoughts of ghosts. It was bright daylight, after all.  
_

_To his surprise, Brooklyn was seated on the floor, his hands beside him. His head was tilted upwards. He did not take his eyes off the crack-infested ceiling. Tyson wondered if Brooklyn was drunk._

_Everything was red.  
_

"_Brooklyn?" he had asked uncertainly. He was still a little unconvinced about the state of his friend's (Could Brooklyn be considered his friend?) sanity._

_The head slowly turned to meet his gaze. Nothing else moved. Nothing at all. The eyes did not meet his, though.  
_

_Brooklyn's eyes were vacant. They were so creepy that Tyson wondered if they were starring in some B-grade horror movie which Mr. Dickenson had conveniently forgotten to tell him about. Brooklyn did not seem to care if he died._

_Brooklyn moved his mouth, but no sound came out. Finally coming to his senses, Tyson rushed towards his friend. _

"_Tenshi?" Brooklyn asked._

_The voice could not have come from Brooklyn. Brooklyn might be a little crazy, but he wasn't that empty._

_But it must have come from him._

_Brooklyn placed a hand on Tyson's arm. His eyes were empty._

"_Tenshi?" he asked again._

_His eyes were still blank, and he had started to sound eerily like a broken tape recorder._

_"Brooklyn," Tyson murmured, shaking his friend's arm gently._

_Brooklyn finally focused his gaze on Tyson. However, he did not appear to be aware of his surroundings.  
_

_At that moment, Tyson knew that he'd never be the same again. Never.  


* * *

_

"Had a nightmare again, Tyson?"

Tyson reached out to hold onto the person. It wasn't a nightmare, he wanted to shout. It wasn't. If only it were a nightmare, a nightmare that could be chased away by the light of the rising sun. But no, it wasn't. It was reality and there was nothing he could do about it because it wouldn't go away.

"Yes," he answered instead. "I had a nightmare."

"Is that so?"

With those words, the person enveloped Tyson in a warm hug.

"Maybe…" the person started to say, then shut their mouth.

"Maybe?" Tyson prompted, still holding onto the shirt, the arm, everything he could hold on to.

"It's nothing."

There was a long pause. Tyson wanted to ask for more answers, but he knew from experience that asking for them would not give any result, not if this person did not want to answer. If he wanted to answer, or if it didn't matter too much, Tyson would probably be able to tell. This was not one of those times.

"How do you get in here, anyway? You have to be careful: someday grandpa is going to mistake you for a burglar or something," Tyson mumbled.

"I took your keys," came the reply.

"So that's where they went," the world champion mumbled. "Wait. What?!"

"I took your keys." The person repeated.

"I heard that!"

Laughter.

"So why did you make me repeat myself?"

"Shut up," Tyson groused.

There was more laughter as smooth, pale fingers brushed his cheek gently. Funny, Tyson always expected those hands to be calloused from beyblading. He took the hand, examining it for signs of moisturiser.

"What are you doing?"

"You remind me of Hiro, sometimes," Tyson answered instead.

"Which part?"

"You."

"That doesn't make even sense."

"Does it?" Tyson asked. "Why are you around me all the time, anyhow? You're not even in my team."

A shrug. "Hell if I know."

"Liar."

"Am I?"

"Garland," Tyson whined.

"Because," Garland murmured. "Remember the day you saw Brooklyn?"

Tyson flinched. "You knew?"

"I knew," Garland confirmed. "I saw you running around like a chicken without a head," Garland said, smiling sadly. "I was actually following you. I thought I'd ask you for a battle. That's why. I saw him too. And you… your face… I just couldn't leave you alone. Not when you had that look on your face."

Tyson smiled. "Thanks. I guess I needed that."

"So did I."

"Too much blood," Tyson murmured, finally thinking about the one thing he refused to let himself even dream about.

"Yeah."

"Do you think Brooklyn wrote the letter?"

"Nah. I did."

"Huh?" Tyson asked, confused. "But you…"

Garland laughed as Tyson spluttered. "Well, the first version anyway."

"There were two versions?" Tyson asked.

"See, I wrote the first one for someone else, so that person's love would finally understand his feelings, but that person caught me and told me that he'd write a proper one."

"So who's the person?" Tyson asked. "Is it Brooklyn?"

Garland smiled. "Oh, no. Let's just say Kenny is not the only member in your team who has the hots for MingMing."

"Huh?"

"Just go to sleep, Tyson," Garland murmured, planting a small kiss on Tyson's forehead.

"How am I supposed to sleep when you tell me that?" Tyson asked, irritated.

Garland shrugged.

"It's Ray, isn't it?" Tyson asked. His eyes held all the horror that he could muster.

"Go to sleep."

"It _is_, isn't it?"

"Go to sleep."

"But I need to know! Please…"

"Fine. I'll tell you in the morning. Go to sleep."

"I can't," Tyson complained.

"It's Kai. Go to sleep."

"Kai?! Are you sure?"

A vein twitched in Garland's forehead as he nodded. "Go to sleep already."

"But he doesn't do that kind of thing. He's Kai!"

Garland sighed. He should just have spiked Tyson's food with sleeping pills.

In fact, he was definitely going to do that tomorrow.

* * *

"Do you think we'll be okay?" Kai asked.

"I don't know," Ming Ming murmured. "We're best friends. Sort of."

"Tyson's the closest thing I have to a best friend. You're… not. You're Ming Ming."

"Yes. I am, aren't I?"

A long pause.

"Kai. We'll fix this someday. It's just that I'm in love with Garland right now, and it's hard."

"Min…"

"I'm sorry."

"Min... Could we ever...?"

Ming Ming nodded slowly.

"Just not right now. I have to…sing… but I guess we're alright. Someday we can be together, I think"

"I'll wait," Kai answers, a small smile on his lips.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's it. Thanks for reading this thing.


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